Sniffing out an aircraft fire

THE smell of fumes in an aircraft cockpit may not always spell danger, but it is guaranteed to alarm the pilot and may force an unnecessary emergency landing.

To help tell the difference between smoke from a fire and harmless fumes caused by a small leak of oil or hydraulic fluid, for example, engineers at Owlstone in Cambridge, UK, have developed a button-sized sensor that can detect a range of chemicals and alert pilots immediately if the aircraft could be in danger.

The detector uses a device called a field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometer to separate ions according to how fast they travel through an electric field. Smaller ions travel faster, allowing different chemicals to be identified. The entire detector is built into two microchips, making it small and light enough to be easily fitted to aircraft.

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